Tuesday, December 3, 2013

All the ghosts

I am feeling a bit discombobulated at the moment. I won't bore you with my existential angst, but suffice to say I don't even have a Christmas list.

Oh in years gone by I had lists that would make you weep. I cross-referenced and I colour coded. The list was a mightly beast and it was long lived. Months of work went into the list, endless planning and changing and perfecting. There was no person, no gift, no awkward hardly-known Kris Kringle or Secret Santa that the list could not serve.

I was the queen of Christmas, the handmade cards were sent in November, ( there was a list so no-one was forgotten) ,the hand made wrapping paper which matched the THEME was made months in advance. I had last minute gifts, spare gifts and even a few dozen kiddy Kris Kringles in reserve so none of the kids at school missed out. I was like a human Pinterest board of glitter fuelled Christmas cheer.

The ghost of Christmas-now would hate the ghost-of-Jodies-past . She was a candy-caned fuelled pain in the arse. The ghost of Christmas now discuss practical vacuum-like gifts with grown children. She looks at value-for-money and finds herself buying things that they won't buy for themselves, like new sheets. She is not happy about this. She wants to buy Lego and potato guns and stupid zombie stuff.

26 comments:

Feel free to send any lego to our house, you can never have enough lego, unless it is lying on the floor at 1am! Then there are no words strong enough to describe the pain and hate for all blocks of plastic that click together!!!I hope you feel less discombobulated soon. Zombie hugs from tis side of the border!👹

Hey, you gave Christmas your all when it really mattered, when the kids were little and Christmas was magic. That is something to be proud of. I'm sure you'll find your magic again. I love that you were Queen of Christmas, I really do.

Yep. Christmas is for little kids. We now do a Kris Kringle with our adult kids and partners. Everyone only has to buy one gift for one person and they aren't allowed to get themselves or their partner. There is a dollar limit, but most go over it - sometimes by a huge amount.I am not a Christmassy person. I find it a bit silly the way people go overboard with the Christmas shopping. It's the fizzy drinks and the sweets that everyone is going to stuff their faces with and not have any appetite for the good food that will either be the base of all meals for a couple of days before it is sadly dumped in the bin for landfill.We host Christmas for our family on Boxing Day and I am a frugal caterer. Usually there is only enough leftovers for our tea that night, and maybe some stuff left for lunch the day after that. The trick is not to have either lots of courses or lots of choice within courses. My mum used to have a ham, chook and either beef or lamb roast. There would be baked vegies as well as salad. There would be trifle, plus jelly and of course, ice-cream. There would also be platters of bikkies, dips and cheeses. There would be lollies, crisps and pretzels. The list of liquids would rival any pub or restaurant for variety and choice. It was bleeding ridiculous. There was probably no more than 8 adults at the table and the kids ranged in age from babies to about twelve, and there was only five of them at the height of this. Just madness. It shall be super quiet here on Christmas Day. Then the fun begins when the grandies turn up, along with all the others for our Christmas on Boxing.I'm making my list, and I'm checking it more than twice. Because I am not having tonnes of leftovers!

With adult children and (thankfully!) no grandchildren yet, I, too, am a practical gift-giver except when it comes to BSP - who gets all the adult toys on the wishlist. ;)

I'm saving my inner " human Pinterest board of glitter fuelled Christmas cheer" for future grandchildren. If you *REALLY* miss being one - and you have the extra funds - perhaps you could adopt a family through a local charity and buy their kids Christmas presents?

I usually have my Christmas cards out, stamped, rubber banded by state, etc...but haven't even cracked open the card box this year. My daughter and I shopped Toys for Tots (a charity of the US Military to collect toys for those children in need). That seems to fill part of the need to buy toys and it certainly fills the gift of heart. May glitter soon fall upon you.

I still try to buy at least a couple of goofy toys for my grown boys. They still enjoy shooting each other with Nerf guns and the like. It does kind of get boring to give them cash towards their too expensive goals and/or "practical" adult gifts.

Oh MY its a future I dont want to contemplate....I have been buying so much Lego for the kids I have had to hide it in a suitcase! There is enough there for three Christmas's! Really grown up kids want vacumn cleaners? I say you still buy them something fun...just for your sanity sake! Even if it is a whoopie cushion!

Haven't sent any cards yet (and am not sending cards to people who didn't send me cards last year - is that bah-humbuggery or what?) I have made/am making a few things for people I really want to make things for, otherwise am generally avoiding the shops. Am loving places like the Ballarat Pop-Up shop and lovely online retailers like Curly Pops and Sweet William. Don't fret, Jod, there's still plenty of time to have a nervous breakdown!

I have long been the grinch in my family, but this year I'm not finding it so bad, maybe because the girls are excited and I have done the hugest lego order and I love making lego, that's how I'll be spending Christmas morning as I eat dessert for breakfast (a Christmas tradition!).

When my girls were very small we went to the North Pole to see Santa and his elves. I froze my arse off for 4 days, rode on a sleigh very close up behind a reindeer's butt and sang silly songs with other indulgent parents on the bus as I prayed we wouldn't crash on the treacherous roads. And they didn't even have alcohol in the hotel! I feel I've done my bit.

Oh I hear you. I can't believe it's December already and I haven't even written a Christmas card list! I feel like scrooge himself this year...I haven't even done any Xmas art with the kids at school yet...and their super hyper over the toppedness is driving me to come home every night and plough my way through a bottle of wine. Ho bloody Ho.

Hmm, I joyfully purchased lego for the 5 year olds (secure in the knowledge that the 12 and 14 year olds will be fighting over who gets to build it) and today I looked at a potato gun for the 12 year old and thought I'd better not, in case one of the 5 year olds use it to take over the world.Thanks for the reminder to buy the potato gun while I still can.

Oh, it is hard to grow up, isn't it? Last year I unearthed all the old Dear Santa letters I had saved and we all had a good laugh at those. One year my son threatened Santa if he didn't get some toy bazooka gun he wanted (oh my). Not being the organized sort but loving handmade, all my gifts are sewn at the last minute and I've frequently sent out the holiday newsletter between Christmas and New Years! Last year we even took the annual family portrait on Christmas Day! But I do miss those days of mystery and excitement when the kids were little :)